Apparently infected with the strain of ennui that appears to be overcoming Portuguese wingers across Europe, Nani is ticked off because he feels Manchester United have failed to deliver a lucrative new £120,000-per-week contract they promised him and wants out of Old Trafford. His obvious disgruntlement has been noted by the Italian champions Juventus, who will make a bid for him in January that will fall well short of United's £24m evaluation. With less than two years left on his contract, the Portuguese is in a position where he could decide to play silly buggers with his current employers before leaving on a free.

Alan Shearer is the most high profile of several candidates being linked with the vacant manager's job at Blackburn Rovers. Although Tim Sherwood had been considered by many to be a shoo-in to replace Steve Kean, who finally fell on his sword last week, the Tottenham coach and Shearer's former Rovers skipper was coyer than a pond full of Japanese carp when quizzed about his interest in the role over the weekend. "I've got a great job where I am," said Sherwood. "There is nothing to consider. It's just speculation."

Depending on which newspapers and websites you read, there are no shortage of contenders to take over at Ewood Park, with Steve Kean's No2 Eric Black, former Rovers midfielder Garry Flitcroft, Barnsley manager Keith Hill and Huddersfield Town boss Simon Grayson all being mooted alongside Shearer. Should Rovers legend Shearer get the job, it would be an undeniably popular appointment with both disillusioned Blackburn fans and Match of the Day viewers, but his managerial pedigree remains unproven considering he relegated Newcastle in his only previous (and admittedly brief) stint as a boss, securing just five Premier League points out of 24 that were up for grabs when he took the role.

Sick and tired of trying to scrape by on a paltry stipend £50,000 per week, Demba Ba will leave Newcastle United in January and go somewhere a man of his talents will be more appreciated. With six goals to his name from as many matches this season, the Senegalese striker is unlikely to be short of suitors. Liverpool are reported to be interested in triggering the £7.5m release clause in his contract and bringing him to Anfield in a move which could result in Andy Carroll being sent the other way. Newcastle are also interested in making a Premier League player of Molde's Norwegian midfielder Jo Inge Berget, a 22-year-old whose career highlight to date remains this audacious chip on Fifa 12.

Along with Manchester City, Liverpool are also monitoring the amount of steam coming out of Theo Walcott's ears at Arsenal and will offer him the striking role he craves once his head starts peeping like one of these fancy Le Cresuet Traditional Stovetop Kettles. And finally, Reading's Russian part-owner Anton Zingarevich wants to bring his compatriot and Real Madrid reserve Denis Cheryshev to the Madejski Stadium, while modest Brazilian full-back Dani Alves has revealed that Paris Saint-Germain tried to lure him from Barcelona during the summer, but turned their interest elsewhere when it transpired not even they could afford him.

"It is true that PSG has called many people and built a beautiful project," he announced. "This summer, they spoke to my representatives and consulted to see if they could do a transfer. But the possibility was very low because my price was very high and suddenly they turned to other players."

• This article was amended on 4 October 2012 because the manager of Huddersfield Town is Simon Grayson, not Paul Grayson as the original said.